Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, CA. Not only is it the site of a secondary educational institution, it’s also the location of a respiratory outbreak. (photo courtesy of KPBS)

This week, ACT scores were released for this past summer’s graduating class, revealing the effects the COVID pandemic has had on the recent educational experience for many students across the U.S. from the previous school year. The results aren’t good- scores have been at their lowest since the early 90s. Many attribute this dip to a less than tactile educational approach that the pandemic has forced upon many school districts across the U.S. in the last two years as a result of remote learning. One could write a whole article on the issue of remote learning alone, but the focus of today’s article is on the actual schooling experience itself.

In the same week, a respiratory ailment has caused more than a thousand students from two San Diego high schools to miss out on classes. The two schools, Patrick Henry(pictured above) as well as Del Norte High School had a combined student absence of more than 1,500. This is being attributed to an early case of this year’s flu season, which like the Coronavirus pandemic that has caused us to pause life as we knew it more than two years ago, now threatens this early school year’s progress of going back to school after many students opted to continue learning from home.

These two stories highlights the complex dynamics between the pandemic and the high school experience for many. Across the U.S., very few high schools have actual students on their school boards- in contrast to places like Berkeley and Oakland school districts, also in California, which have included 16-year old youths to their board, and perhaps other school boards in the U.S., not too many other districts are able to advocate for the well-being of their fellow peers. At times, students have had to confront those who weren’t always supportive of the option to wear masks in the midst of the pandemic, as in this viral story from Florida earlier this year documents.

In regards to test scores themselves, the NPR reported that inequities prior to the pandemic have become even more apparent, as remote learning required many low-income students to deal with the need to acquire materials, such as a computer, internet service and other items to conduct remote learning. This doesn’t even mention the further unequal financial burden associated with the move, i.e. families needing to stay home from work to watch younger children previously sent to daycares, sign up for internet services as well as provide meals to their child who is learning remotely. Because of these challenges, some higher education institutions have adapted to the situation, dropping the requirement that traditional college entrance exam scores not be taken into consideration on applications.

Unfortunately, high schools have not or may not be as accommodating. The lack of students on school boards likely plays a role in this, as resources to help students during the pandemic might not always be allocated to less privileged students to continue their learning.

With regards to the pandemic itself, or even the new outbreak of flu in school like the ones being seen in the two San Diego high schools, students have often clashed with their schools in favor of keeping mask mandates, such as this story last year from a student who spoke at his local school board. It is safe to assume that at his school, the school board has not integrated youths to weigh in on the issues affecting them at their center of learning. This narrative likely plays out in many other places, often times where youth are trying to do what’s best for them and even those around them.

Of course, the larger argument is autonomy itself, about getting the vote for the youth who actually attend their schools. This may not have applied to the outbreaks in San Diego, but it could have. Students could shape how the district responds to this or other similar cases if this starts happening nationwide. It’s hard to say whether doing this would improve student test scores looking at the whole picture, but if students feel the need to continue mask mandates at their school, it would guarantee students actually showed up to their classes rather than missing them, and possibly increasing their scores on entrance exams.

The main point is students should have the vote- we have the legislation to make it happen, and we just need to get it passed so youth lives are improved with regards to all things pertaining their educational experience.

-Jester Jersey

DavisKiwanian@mail.com

Protesters supporting abortion rights. This summer saw abundant protests nationwide after the decision on Roe v. Wade was overturned in June.(Photo courtesy of Gregg Pachkowski)

Earlier this summer, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling status quo set by the decision on the Roe vs. Wade case from half a century ago. At a time when healthcare is top of mind for many after going through an ongoing pandemic and with our national health infrastructure grappling with its response to the pandemic for the last two years, basic rights of autonomy regarding maternal care are now being called into question, even for those needing an abortion for whatever reason. In this fray, youth are caught up in a mess of politics in which they still don’t have a say.

Take this case last month in Florida for example: recently, a parentless young woman applied to get an abortion on the grounds that she cannot care for the child. However, she was denied on the basis that she lacked “maturity” to make a sufficient decision for herself, despite her being the one most affected by the decision making around her, forcing her to carry a child to term despite not having a means to care for the child.

The 16-year old girl had to navigate tons of paperwork just to get a hearing in the first place, and despite being of working-age, and therefore paying taxes on any kind of work she could secure, she was deemed immature to get an abortion. One could argue if this had been in a state where there are active efforts to lower the voting age, or in places where it has been lowered, like several municipalities in Maryland, that could have been brought up as an argument to show that if one is mature enough to select their elected representatives to represent them in government, then one should be mature enough to make decisions on their own behalf on health issues that affects their own body. However, this isn’t the case.

If you think efforts to make voting more difficult for people from last year was hard, imagine being denied an abortion on the grounds that, “Yes, despite you being of working & childbearing-age, carrying a developing child to term within your own body, eligible to pay taxes on income you earn from employment, autonomous enough to get a vaccine without parental consent to stop the spread of a virus that caused a global pandemic, we still deem you not mature enough to make a health decision that will affect the course of your life despite not having any means to support the life of the child you now carry.” Many who seek out abortions in the first place are the people who don’t always have a means to care for themselves, let alone another life.

When you consider that, like the efforts to make voting harder, there are yet others who are making abortion harder as well, even after the results of overturning the national status quo regarding abortions, then you have a catastrophic mix of individuals unable to make decisions about their own healthcare, let alone elected representatives, while the need to support unplanned births in communities nationwide. This benefits no one.

Lowering the voting age nationwide through House Joint Resolution 23 demonstrates the impact for not only working-age youth to have a say in how the taxed income from their earnings are used by their elected representatives, but to also have a say in their own healthcare with regards to maternal care decisions.

-Jester Jersey

DavisKiwanian@mail.com

Climate protesters supporting the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which has some legislation to address current climate challenges and other more recent issues that have surfaced as of this year (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

The news has had no shortage of reporting on the record-high inflation many consumers have been facing for the last few months. Although gas prices have been decreasing for the last two months straight, other expenses have not, such as those in the rental market and at the grocery store. With the pandemic still in the background as summer wraps up amid other issues, youth in the climate change efforts have had some recent gains with the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Inflation Reduction Act(IRA) was recently passed to address a number of issues that have arose in light of the recession fears, including addressing taxes and providing relief for those who invest in greener technologies, to tackling some aspects of climate change and relief for seniors who are dependent on prescription medication. Of course, the IRA is also looking to address current effects of inflation, which has been plaguing the economy the last few months much like COVID has with the global economy the last two and a half years. It is estimated that passage of the bill means more than $300 billion in consumer savings on all of the above in some form or another.

Some argue that the legislation doesn’t go far enough, as inflation will likely will be a problem months after the legislation is signed, providing only a short-term bandage fix to the economy. Others argue it is taking “some small steps in the right direction” according to Lundy Wright, partner and portfolio manager at Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers. Although Wright believes the name of the bill is misleading, he admits “a longer-term clean energy plan has been glaringly lacking from recent policies, this … is a positive step, even if its immediate impact is very low”. Indeed, some efforts are better than nothing, and this passage of the IRA does provide some hope for passing other legislation that is oriented towards youth, such as H.J. Resolution 23, which would lower the national voting age to 16.

While the IRA bill doesn’t necessarily focus solely on climate change, it does do a good job of taking small steps in addressing issues that are youth-specific, such as climate matters involving investing in greener technologies, as youth have also been much affected by the rise in prices for everything the last few months, making a difference in how much a guardian can provide for them, or the case of more autonomy, how much they can provide for themselves.

The bill also indirectly addresses the need for more involvement by those who will be affected by the longer-term effects of climate change for longer periods of time. As climate change issues continue to be discussed during one of the hottest years on record, more youth voices should be incorporated to address both short-term issues such as economic inflation and long-term issues such as climate. The next step to do this is by passing House Joint Resolution 23.

Jеstеr Jеrsеy

DavisKiwanian@mail.com

Germany moves closer to lowering their national voting age to 16. Some regions of the country already have done so while neighbouring Austria had already lowered its national voting age years ago. (photo courtesy of the @dpa)

In what could be game-changing news for fellow youth enfranchisers around the world, Germany could be the next major nation to enfranchise 16-year olds nationwide. Last year, Berlin News reported that supporters of the move did not have the votes to make a change happen. However, after last September’s elections and recent events leaning towards that direction, a majority of liberal supporters, including the original backers of the move prior to last year’s election along with another liberal German faction, now have the majority to make this reform possible for the near future.

Although only 5 of the 16 German states currently have an avenue for 16-year olds to vote in political affairs, current supporters trying to nationalize the efforts say other states most likely will join the currents ones. The SPD faction leader, Raed Saleh, who leads one of several liberal factions within the German government also stated that “It’s high time for Berlin,” arguing that in German states where the voting age was lowered, many young people took advantage of their new right.

The German efforts to enfranchise more youth are also part of the global efforts to lower the voting age to 16 in countries around the world that I wrote about in May’s blog post. The coalition continues to grow, and we’re always looking for new global allies to help enfranchise fellow.

Jеstеr Jеrsеy

DavisKiwanian@mail.com

A graphic used to announce the Juneteenth observance. Although it was on Sunday, June 19th, it is observed on Monday, the 20th.(photo source)

Today’s blog might be redundant, but the continued fight for basic civil rights bears repeating. On this Juneteenth observance day, one should remember many in society today that were not afforded voting, democratic rights simply because of their status in life. These include gender, racial/ethnicity factors, ownership of property and many other disqualifying factors.

Even in an era where Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other civil rights pioneers are household names, and many people are now beginning to realize the importance of Juneteenth observations, democracy still isn’t a democracy unless those who have a stake in not only current events get a voice, but future events as well. Today, that new frontier of enfranchisement is getting the vote for those 16 years old who have been paying taxes to the government towards the income they earn; being affected by many global issues that they will inherit as democratic leaders; & being the ones to need to find solutions to these problems that current leaders may either be unable to or unwilling to solve at this time, only to pass the buck to the generation after them without care to pass on their insight and even resources to address.

Rather than going through all the reasons why expanding youth enfranchisement is important, I should remind readers that there are already 45 previous editions of this monthly blog that discusses the merits, advantages to democracy as well as the overall improvement of democracy that shows why we should lower the voting age to 16.

All throughout the world, individual movements are beginning to gather to see how we can best coordinate those efforts. As last month’s blog shows, there is a global collaborative working together across various regions to see how we can best help each other.

If the people we’re helping to enfranchise now, and conversely working with us to help enfranchise themselves, are one day going to be the same people working to make the world a better place in their respective regions around the world, then the efforts we’re working on now to lower the voting age should be one of the ways we can participate in the democratic process as well as train future leaders on how to work with their global counterparts.

Jеstеr Jеrsеy

DavisKiwanian@mail.com

The webpage for the Vote16 World movement. It’s still a work in progress, but the coalition is progressing on many efforts around the world to enfranchise more youth.

This month, the movement to lower the voting age has gone global! Several youth organizations from around the world have begun organizing to lower the voting age in their respective regions.

Places where active campaign are currently taking place, including the U.S., Canada and others have joined forces with both places that have gained some rights for youth like the U.K. as well as new allies in New Zealand to work together to give each other support.

Although the joint alliance is new, the efforts by many members isn’t. In fact, now would be a great time to work together to address global issues that affect many young people around the world, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as the continue threat of climate change. Not only can youth now work together across the globe to begin addressing issues relevant to them, but they can also start trying to address issues relevant to their own regions that their peers may not be affected by.

Our years of tireless, persistent efforts have finally started to pay off. Now, we not only have a very real chance of spreading democracy around the world, but we can also make real change happen that a newer generation of young people can be a part of, something that many youth organizations have been trying to achieve recently. Now that a global website is up and running, we have an online resource to organize around.

No matter where you’re located in the world, we have ways of now joining together with other global movements to lower the voting age to 16, and we now have the allies, means and opportunity to do just this.

Jеstеr Jеrsеy

DavisKiwanian@mail.com

As the globe just marked the second year we have been affected by the pandemic, entering into our third as of last month, youth continue to be affected by ageist policies. The world continues to contend with the pandemic in some parts, while in many places youth still contribute to local economies, even during the pandemic, without being able to vote. Sadly, this continues even in the United States. Yesterday, April 15th, was Income Tax Day. Despite many young people working even in this pandemic environment, paying taxes locally on the wages they have earned, they have yet to get a vote. House Joint Resolution 23 can change this.

Right now, there are many organizations in the United States trying to address this issue. Some have been working only recently, in the last few years, while others have been around for decades. Others have been working locally, often at a local municipality capacity, while others also work nationally, sometimes on a regional basis. In some cases, we even have international allies we work with who are supportive of our efforts. However, it has only been in the last year that efforts to organize all these efforts to work together to collaborate on House Joint Resolution 23.

House Joint Resolution 23 still awaits a vote in the House of Representatives, while many groups working to collaborate on the issue await the time to take an active approach. I continue to monitor the progress often and keep our network of allies up to date on any developments. Whether or not this bill passes will depend on whether all supporters of lowering the voting age to 16 in the United States work together or not. In the case of the former, we just might have a chance at changing democracy for the better, like so many other nations that have already enfranchised youth. In the case of the latter, youth making contributions now, including areas hit hard by the pandemic, or where youth-specific issues are most prevalent, will continue to go without a vote for years, when these issues may not be as relevant but still affecting their younger peers. These issues will always affect someone, and right now, we have the tools, resources and allies to remedy this for youth in the short term while also making democracy better in the long term.

I would like to keep in touch with others if you’re not already in touch. House Joint Resolution 23 is an important piece of legislation that could help our efforts locally, regionally and nationally, at a time when youth are also affected by the pandemic, contributing towards those efforts while also still trying to address issues of ageism, like taxation without representation, climate change, school safety issues as some regions return to an in-person school environment and many other issues that supporters of lowering the voting age have been supporting since calls began to support expanding democracy to unenfranchised youth.

We have an opportunity to change the political landscape. Just like how we are obligated to do what we can to participate in our democracy, we should also do what we can to make voting easier, more accessible to our future leaders.

As House Joint Resolution 23 awaits a vote, we need to continually strategize effectively until we can get the bill passed when it does come up for a vote. For this reason, I and other allies will be reaching out to both groups and individuals, no matter how what efforts you’re working on or how large your groups are. Any help makes a difference. No movement is too small to make a difference in this effort.

If one person can make a difference, then we can achieve greater success on this issue if we work together. It is important that we share our resources and skills to work together to get this bill passed. Please get in touch with me if you we’re not already in communication with each other. We cannot let this important opportunity slip by!

Jеstеr Jеrsеy

DavisKiwanian@mail.com

The COVID-19 pandemic has left a shortage of many things, including medical supplies, volunteers & even emergency medical technicians. Some high school youth have picked up the slack to help their communities.(Photo courtesy of Jane Kenney)

During the last two years, shortages abound during the difficult time. As hospitals filled up while store shelves became empty, another pandemic shortage occurred in the emergency medical technicians field, otherwise known as EMTs. However, one New York Community found an interesting, innovative solution to address the first responder shortage.

High schoolers in Sackets Harbor have recently volunteered to take up ambulance services at a time when cities attempted to mandate vaccinations. When the regular volunteers were unable to carry out their duties, Sackets Harbor youth stepped in to fill the role.

Grayden Brunet, now 20, first joined when he was 16, saying “My whole time being an officer here has been COVID (laughter). So it’s definitely been a learning experience… We came in one day and realized we were the only ones coming in”, referring to a time when vaccine mandates forced them to be the only responding staff as some of their colleagues protested the mandates.

Like in last month’s post about youth stepping up to get vaccinated, youth have also been active contributors to the pandemic, both stopping the spread of & helping people affected by the virus. Not to mention that EMT services also help non-COVID patients get the emergency services they need.

When asked about what it’s been like being a young EMT in light of COVID, Brunet says ” it’s definitely been a learning experience”. It’s probably a lesson many youth are learning as the pandemic has shown they’re often more autonomous than they give themselves credit for.

If you can trust youth who don’t have a vote to save your life in an emergency situation, you can trust them to choose the next leader of a democracy.

Jеstеr Jеrsеy

DavisKiwanian@mail.com

Nicolas Montero, who is the focus of today’s post. Montero, 16 recently received a vaccine without his parent’s approval, is an example of why youth should have a vote. (Photo by Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

As COVID enters its third pandemic year, we take a look at how the multi-year event has impacted some youth. One of particular focus today comes from NPR News of a 16-year old who had to hide his plans to get vaccinated from his anti-vax parents.

Nicolas Montero, a 16-year old who resides in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was recently vaccinated against his parent’s wishes, and needed to hide his attempt to get the vaccine. Before Montero could get a COVID vaccine, he had to travel to Philadelphia to do so. Fortunately, Montero had the means to get vaccinated. Other youth in his situation don’t always have the accessibility, and depending on where they lived, their local legislature may or may not be anymore helpful than trying to get one through their parents.

As a volunteer researcher with several organizations fighting COVID-19, this story resonates well with me for the argument of lowering the voting age, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are several points worth mentioning in this article that support an idea of a lower voting age, especially to 16- Montero himself was 16; he was employed, and therefore paying taxes on the income he earned; and even a city regulation permitted him to get vaccinated.

Montero took his own initiative to get the vaccine, against his parent’s wishes, because opportunities existed and he wanted to do what he believed was the right thing, to not only protect himself and his immediate family but to also help protect those in his community as well as help end the pandemic.

Montero’s case shows how much of a double standard many youth still live through, even while going through a pandemic like the rest of the voting populace. At 16, Montero, like many of his peers nationwide, are: eligible to get vaccinated, can consent to getting vaccinated, are eligible to work, pay taxes and are just affected by the pandemic as everyone else. Yet despite being able to get vaccinated, traveling some distance from his home, he still doesn’t have a vote. In other words, you can consent to something that could have life-saving consequences for your own health, which can have immediate consequences for you and those around you, but you cannot vote on other issues that might affect you for longer periods of time, like climate change, gun control and where your taxes are going to. This is not right.

I urge all supporters of lowering the voting age to support H J Res 23. While it might not enfranchise all youths, it can enfranchise a substantial number of our future democratically-participating peers to make their own decisions that affect their health and other issues.

Jеstеr Jеrsеy

DavisKiwanian@mail.com

Dr. King delivering his famous “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963. Much has changed to improve the lives of minorities since then, but oppression continues in new ways and new forms, bringing challenges that both this generation and the next must face. It is up to us as supporters of enfranchising the next generation of leaders to continue the fight. (Photo courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica)

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It has almost been six decades since Dr. King gave his speech in Washington D.C. on that warm summer day in August of 1963. One would think that since then, we would have more equality for people, be better off as a society & have less problems. That is unfortunately not the case.

Threats unimaginable in Dr. King’s era, such as climate, disenfranchisement & a global pandemic are only a few examples of issues that people are trying to address in light of inequality. However, addressing disenfranchisement is one way to address many other challenges- by giving the vote to the youth.

It is hard to know what Dr. King would think if he were still alive in this modern era. Perhaps he would be proud of the changes for the better to improve the lives of people since his speech. But I would also think that he would be disappointed in the lack of changes he has not seen. I think disenfranchisement of youth would be one of them. If it were not for that opportunity to deliver the speech that he is known for, many would not know Dr. King’s name. It would be likely that Dr. King would also want to hear the voices of future leaders to weigh in on the issues that not only affect them today, but issues that will affect them tomorrow.

There are many issues that affect youth. By trying to address them individually, change will occur slowly while other issues concurrently affect them. However, enfranchising them by giving them a vote will not only empower young people politically, but also let them have their voices heard on a wide range of issues, that affect them, their family and their community.